JPH06148505A - Camera with line-of-sight detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To give priority to photographing when a release operation is contained in a calibration information input. CONSTITUTION:This camera with a line-of-sight detector is provide with an input means 101 for inputting to a camera the calibration information relating to the eyes of every photographer, arithmetic means 102 for calculating the line-of-sight of a photographer on the basis of the state of the line-of-sight of an operator who observes a finder and the calibration information, a setting means 103 for setting the condition of photographing on the basis of the calculated line-of-sight, a photographing means 104 for carrying out the processing for photographing in response to the release operation and a priority operation executing means 105 for interrupting the inputting operation and operating the photographing means 104 when release operation is performed in the operation of the input means 101. When the release operation is performed while the calibration information is being inputted, the photographing is performed with priority given thereto.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera with a line-of-sight detection device capable of detecting the line-of-sight of a photographer looking through a viewfinder and setting various photographing conditions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a camera with a visual axis detection device
The one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 274736 is known. In this conventional camera, a light beam is emitted to the eyeball of the photographer looking into the viewfinder, the reflected light from the cornea and the whole eyeball image are formed on the CCD area sensor by the condensing lens, and the center position of the pupil and the reflection are reflected from this image. By determining the position of light and calculating the rotation angle of the eyes, it is possible to detect which region of the finder the photographer is gazing at.

The size and the visual axis of the eyeball, whether the naked eye, the contact lens is worn, or the type of eyeglasses is different for each photographer, and when calculating the photographer's line of sight, such individual difference is ignored and the average is taken. If a different value is used, an error is likely to occur in the calculated line of sight. Therefore, in the camera with a visual axis detection device disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, information regarding the eyes of each photographer is input to the camera in advance to suppress the occurrence of a calculation error.

Conventionally, such input of information regarding the eye has been performed.
It is performed as follows. Select the calibration mode with the mode dial and select the calibration number. By this mode selection, the first fiducial mark blinks at the first position in the viewfinder. The photographer looks into the finder and presses the release button halfway while gazing at the first reference mark. The output of the CCD area sensor at this time is stored. When the half-press operation is canceled, the first fiducial mark goes out,
After a few seconds, the second fiducial mark flashes in the second position. The photographer looks into the finder and presses the release button halfway while gazing at the second reference mark. The output of the CCD area sensor at this time is stored. CCD when gazing at the first and second fiducial marks
Information regarding the eyeball of the photographer is calculated and stored from the output signals respectively obtained from the. If five calibration numbers are set, calibration data for five people can be input in advance.

[0005]

However, in the conventional camera, even if the release button is fully pressed during the calibration operation, the shutter cannot be released, and there is a risk of missing a shutter chance. Further, conventionally, the photographer has to sequentially operate the above-described procedure to input the calibration information, which makes the operation complicated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a camera with a line-of-sight detection device that can capture an image even while inputting calibration information. Another object of the present invention is to provide a camera with a visual axis detection device that automates the input of calibration information.

[0007]

The present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1A which is a diagram corresponding to claims. The present invention is based on an input means 101 for inputting calibration information about eyes of each photographer to a camera, and a viewfinder. Calculating means 102 for calculating the line of sight of the photographer based on the state of the operator's eyes and calibration information, setting means 103 for setting the photographing condition based on the calculated line of sight, and responding to the release operation. The present invention is applied to a camera with a line-of-sight detecting device, which includes an image capturing unit 104 that executes an image capturing process under the image capturing conditions set by The first purpose described above is the input means 101.
This is achieved by providing the priority operation executing means 105 that stops the input operation and operates the image capturing means 104 when the release operation is performed during the operation. Another object of the present invention is, as shown in FIG. 1B, a detection means 106 for detecting that the operator has brought an eyepiece into the finder, and an operation of the input means 101 when the eyepiece is detected by the detection means 106. It is achieved by including the operation control means 107 for starting the. The input means 101 of claim 4 has a storage means 101A for storing the calibration information for one operator, and when the detection means 106 detects an eyepiece, the stored value already stored is input operation this time. The calibration information obtained in the above step is updated. The input means 101 according to claim 5 causes the light emitting means 101B and C which emit light at at least two places in the finder and one of the light emitting means 101B to emit light when an eyepiece is detected, and inputs calibration information to the light emitting means 101B. When the process ends, the light emitting control unit 101D that causes the other light emitting unit 101C to emit light is included.

[0008]

When the release operation is performed while the calibration information is being input by the input means 101, the priority operation execution means 1
By 05, the image capturing means 104 operates to capture an image.
When the detecting means 106 detects the eyepiece, the input means 101
Starts the input operation of the calibration information. Every time the input unit 101 inputs the calibration information to the camera, the calibration information already stored is erased and new calibration information is stored. When the input means 101 starts to operate, one light emitting means 101B operates, and when the input of the calibration information is completed, the other light emitting means 101C operates to input the calibration information.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an electric system of a camera with a visual axis detection device according to the present invention. 1 is CPU, RA
A control circuit 2 mainly composed of M and ROM is a known line-of-sight detection device. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, four infrared light emitting diodes 21 for illuminating the eyeball EB of the photographer,
The line-of-sight input CCD 22 and a condenser lens 23 for forming the reflected light from the cornea and the entire eyeball image on the CCD 22 are provided. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 24 is an eyepiece lens, 25 is a beam splitter, and 26 is a pentaprism. Further, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 3 denotes an LED (light emitting diode) group which blinks in the finder, and has, for example, three LEDs 1 to 3 in a horizontal row as shown in FIG. The visual axis detection device 2 and the LED group 3 are known in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-274736, and the detailed description thereof is omitted.

SW1 is a power switch, SW2 is a half-press switch that is turned on by half-pressing the release button, and SW3 is a full-press switch that is turned on by fully-pressing the release button. Also,
Reference numeral 4 denotes a diaphragm or shutter drive control device, and 5 denotes focus detection in each of a plurality of focus detection areas provided in the field, and a focus for driving the photographing lens to a focus position based on the focus detection. The adjusting device 6 is a photometric device that divides the object field into a plurality of photometric regions and measures the luminance distribution thereof, and the exposure value is calculated by the control circuit 1 based on the plurality of divided photometric values.

In such a camera, for example, which focus detection area the photographer is gazing at is determined from the information detected by the line-of-sight detection device 2, and based on the result of the determination, the inside of the gazing area is determined. The focus is adjusted so as to focus on the subject at, and the exposure value is calculated in conjunction with it.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a main program of the camera, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a calibration information input routine. Power switch SW1
When is turned on, the program shown in FIG.
At 10, it is determined whether the half-push switch SW2 is on, and if the result is negative, the process proceeds to step S15, the visual axis detection device 2 is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S20. In step S20, it is determined whether or not the photographer is looking through the finder, that is, the eyepiece. This determination can be easily made by using the output from the CCD 22 provided in the visual axis detection device 2. A touch sensor may be provided in the eyepiece section to determine the eyepiece.

When the eyepiece is determined in step S20, the process proceeds to step S30, and the calibration information input routine shown in FIG. 6 is executed. When the program shown in FIG. 6 is started, the flag is reset in step S31, 1 is assigned to the variable N, and time counting is started in step S32. In step S33, the N-th mark (light emitting diode LED _N ) corresponding to the number set in the variable N is made to blink, the process proceeds to step S34, it is determined whether or not the halfway press switch SW2 is turned on, and the determination is affirmative. Then, the process returns to step S50 in FIG.

When it is determined that the half-push switch SW2 is off, the process proceeds to step S35, and it is determined whether the input of the sight line detection calibration information by the _Nth LED _N is completed. If affirmative, the Nth LED in step S36
For example, _N is lit for 1 second to notify the end of the input of the calibration information for the mark. In step S37, it is determined whether or not the variable N is 3, that is, whether or not the input of the sight line detection calibration information has been completed for all the marks, and if affirmative, step S3
The flag is set at 7A, the calibration routine is terminated, the process returns to step S50 in FIG. 5, and if negative, the process proceeds to step S38. In step S38, 1 is added to the variable N and the process returns to step S32 to execute the same processing.

If it is determined in step S35 that the input of the sight line detection calibration information for the Nth mark has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S39, and the timer count has reached a predetermined value (time-up is performed). Whether or not) is determined, and when the time is not up, the process returns to step S33. When the time is up, the process proceeds to step S40, all the LEDs 1 to 3 are blinked for 1 second, the input failure of the sight line detection calibration information is notified, and the process returns to step S50 in FIG.

In step S50 of FIG. 5, it is determined whether or not the half-push switch SW2 is turned on, and if it is turned on, the process proceeds to step S60 to prepare for photographing.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the photographing preparation process, and in step S61, the visual line detection signal from the visual line detection device 2 is fetched and the visual line of the photographer is calculated. Detailed description thereof will be omitted. In step S62, a focus detection area is selected based on the obtained line of sight and calculation for focus adjustment is executed, and in step S63 the photographing lens is driven to the in-focus position. For example, the photographing lens is driven to the in-focus position based on the focus detection result of the area through which the line of sight passes. Further, in step S64, the weighting given to each divided photometric signal at the time of photometric calculation is determined based on the obtained line of sight. For example, the weight given to the divided photometric signals from the region through which the line of sight passes is made large, and the weight given to the divided photometric signals from the other regions is made small. Then, in step S65, the exposure value calculation is performed based on the weighting. When the exposure value is calculated, the process returns to step S70 in FIG.

In step S70, the full-press switch SW3 is pressed.
Is on. Fully pressed switch S in step S70
When W3 is on, the process proceeds to step S72, and step S72
After shooting under the shooting conditions determined in 60, the operation for the next shooting is performed. That is, in the case of a silver salt film, one film is wound up. If it is determined in step S50 that the halfway switch SW2 is off, steps S70 and S72 are skipped and the process proceeds to step S74. In step S74, it is determined whether or not the power switch SW1 is turned on, and if affirmed, the process proceeds to step S76. In step S76, it is determined whether or not this step has been passed a predetermined number of times in succession, and if affirmative, the series of routines after the power is turned off is ended in step S78, but the process goes to step S10 until the predetermined number of times is reached. Returning to this, the steps S10 to S74 are repeated. If it is determined in step S74 that the power switch SW1 is off, this program ends.

According to such an embodiment, when the release button is fully pressed during the operation of inputting the calibration information, the shutter operation is prioritized, so there is no risk of missing a shutter chance. When the photographer looks into the viewfinder without operating the release button after turning on the power, the operation of inputting the calibration information is started, and the first light emitting diode LED1 in the viewfinder blinks for a predetermined time. Light-emitting diode LE that the photographer blinks within a predetermined time
When gazing at D1, the calibration information for the first light emitting diode LED1 is stored. Then, the second light emitting diode LED2 blinks. Similarly, when the photographer gazes at the light emitting diode LED2, the calibration information for the second light emitting diode LED2 is stored. Similarly, the third light emitting diode LED3
Calibration information for is stored. Then, the calibration information for the photographer's eyes is calculated based on the three stored values, and EEPRO of the control circuit 1 is calculated.
It is stored in M, a power backup RAM, or the like. When the calibration information is already stored, the data is updated with new data.

Therefore, after the power switch is turned on, calibration information regarding the photographer's eyes is automatically input only by sequentially paying attention to the light emitting diodes LED1 to LED3 which sequentially blink in the viewfinder. Moreover, since the calibration information is updated each time the eyepiece is turned on after the power is turned on, a specific calibration input number is assigned to a plurality of photographers to input the calibration data for each photographer, Complicated operations such as reading data can be omitted.

Further, when the input of the calibration information is unsuccessful, all the light emitting diodes LED1 to LED3 are made to blink in step S40 to notify the failure of the input of the calibration information. You can try to enter the information. When it is determined in step S37 that the input of the calibration information for all the light emitting diodes is completed, the last light emitting diode LED3 is turned off one second after it is turned on, and all the light emitting diodes are turned off. Therefore, the photographer can recognize that the input of all the calibration information has been completed by turning off all the light emitting diodes.

If the light emitting diode for which the calibration information has been input is not turned on for one second and is continuously turned on during the calibration operation, all the light is emitted when all the calibration information is input. Since the diodes are turned on, it is known that the input of the calibration information for all the marks is completed.

In the above embodiment, when the half-press operation is performed before the calibration information is input, that is, before the calibration information is updated, the calibration information used in the line-of-sight calculation is The calibration information that has already been stored and is not updated is used. The calibration information used at this time may be any of the following other information.

An average value of a plurality of pieces of calibration information stored in the past is used. In this case, the first storage means (such as the EEPROM or the power backup RAM) for storing the updated latest calibration information.
In addition to the above, a second storage means (eg EEPROM) is newly added.
, And stores the latest m average values and the number m thereof. Then, when newly updated and the latest information is stored in the first storage means, the following calculation is performed in the control circuit 1. The value of the information updated this time is added to the average value of m pieces, and it is divided by m + 1. Second information obtained
The storage means of is updated and stored.

Of the plurality of pieces of calibration information stored in the past, one having a high storage frequency is used. In this case, in order to count the frequency distribution of the calibration information, for example, the following calculation is performed in the control circuit 1.
Since the range of the calibration information obtained by detection is known in advance, the range is divided into a plurality (for example, 100) and the same number of memories are allocated to them. Every time the calibration information is detected, 1 is added to the stored value of the memory corresponding to the information. When the half-press operation is performed, the calibration information corresponding to the memory in which the maximum value is stored, that is, the information having the highest occurrence frequency is adopted and used in the line-of-sight calculation.

Standard calibration information stored in advance in the camera is used. In this case, a ROM that stores standard calibration information is provided in the control circuit 1, and if a half-press operation is performed before the calibration information is updated, the ROM is read from this ROM and used. The standard calibration information is obtained by collecting the calibration information of a large number of people in advance.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of the photographing preparation process. Differences from FIG. 7 will be mainly described. In this example, when the half-press operation is performed before the input of the calibration information is completed, the predetermined focus adjustment and the exposure value calculation weighting process are performed without using the signal from the visual line detection device 2. It is the one. In step S60A, it is determined from the state of the flag whether or not the input of the calibration information is completed, and if it is completed, the line-of-sight detection device 2 is used as described in FIG.
Focus adjustment and exposure value calculation are performed based on the signal from.
If the calibration information has not been input, the process proceeds to step S66, and the camera performs automatic focus adjustment. For example, a focus detection signal from a region supplementing the closest subject is selected from a plurality of focus detection results, and in step S67, the photographing lens is driven to the in-focus position to perform focus adjustment. Further, in step S68, the weighting of the photometric signal from the photometric area corresponding to the closest area used for focus adjustment among the plurality of divided photometric signals is increased.

[0027]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, when the release operation is performed during the input operation of the calibration information, the calibration information input operation is stopped and the photographing is performed with priority. Since this is done, there is no risk of missing a photo opportunity. In addition, since the calibration information is automatically input only by the eye contact of the photographer, a complicated calibration input operation as in the related art is omitted, and operability is improved. If the already input calibration information is updated with the latest data, the calibration information regarding the photographer who is currently using the camera is automatically input.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Fig.1] Claim correspondence diagram

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electric system of a camera with a visual axis detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a line-of-sight detection device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an arrangement of light emitting diodes in a viewfinder.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a main operation procedure of the camera of one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for inputting calibration information of a camera according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a shooting preparation process of the camera according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of the procedure for the camera preparation process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Control Circuit 2 Line-of-Sight Detection Device 3 LED Group 21 Infrared Light Emitting Diode 22 CCD 23 Condensing Lens 101 Input Means 102 Computing Means 103 Setting Means 104 Shooting Means 105 Priority Operation Executing Means 106 Detecting Means 107 Operation Control Means SW1 Power Switch SW2 Half-press switch SW3 Full-press switch LEDs 1-3 LED

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G03B 13/02 7139-2K 7316-2K G03B 3/00 A

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An input means for inputting calibration information about an eye of each photographer into a camera, and a computing means for computing the line of sight of the photographer based on the state of the eyes of an operator observing a viewfinder and the calibration information. And setting means for setting shooting conditions based on the calculated line of sight,
In a camera with a line-of-sight detection device that includes a photographing unit that executes a photographing process in response to a release operation, when the release operation is performed during the operation of the input unit, the input operation is stopped and the photographing unit is operated. A camera with a line-of-sight detection device, comprising a priority operation executing means for operating the camera. 2. The camera according to claim 1, further comprising: detection means for detecting that the operator has brought an eyepiece into the finder, and operation control means for starting the operation of the input means when the eyepiece is detected by the detection means. A camera with a line-of-sight detection device, comprising: 3. An input means for inputting to the camera calibration information regarding the eyes of each photographer, and a computing means for computing the line of sight of the photographer based on the state of the eyes of the operator observing the viewfinder and the calibration information. And a camera with a line-of-sight detection device that includes a setting unit that sets shooting conditions based on the calculated line-of-sight, a detection unit that detects that the operator has contacted the finder, and the detection unit detects the eye-contact. A camera with a line-of-sight detection device, comprising: an operation control unit that starts the operation of the input unit. 4. The camera according to claim 3, wherein the input unit has a storage unit that stores calibration information for one operator, and is already stored when the eyepiece is detected by the detection unit. A camera with a line-of-sight detection device, characterized in that the stored value is updated to the calibration information obtained by this input operation. 5. The camera according to claim 3, wherein the input means causes one of the light emitting means to emit light at at least two points in the finder and one of the light emitting means to emit light when the eyepiece is detected, and A camera with a line-of-sight detection device, comprising a light emission control unit for causing the other light emission unit to emit light when the input of the calibration information is completed.